Pubdate: Sun, 17 Mar 2002
Source: Oregonian, The (OR)
Copyright: 2002 The Oregonian
Contact:  http://www.oregonlive.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324
Author: Alice Tallmadge
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

GIRL'S PRINCIPLES FORFEIT PLAY

OAKRIDGE -- The Oregon Court of Appeals will hear arguments Monday in the 
case of a teen who is barred from playing competitive sports because she 
opposes Oakridge High School's mandatory drug-testing program for student 
athletes.

Ginelle Weber, 17, showed great athletic promise her freshman year, making 
it to state competitions in both track and basketball. But Weber has been 
sidelined for two years because of her contention that the school has no 
right to subject her to a drug test unless it has reason to suspect she may 
be using drugs or alcohol.

Sticking to her guns is proving rougher than any challenge she could have 
faced on the playing field.

"Before all this happened, people knew I was a good athlete," Weber said. 
"People cared about me; my coaches cared about me. So did the people in my 
community. Now it's like having a life crisis when you're 16. Everything I 
had fell apart. They don't even call me an athlete anymore. The newspaper 
used to write good articles about me. Now people are telling me I'm wasting 
tax dollars."

Oakridge is one of several Oregon school districts participating in a $3.6 
million Oregon Health & Science University study investigating whether 
random drug testing of student athletes is a deterrent to drug and alcohol 
use. Some of the schools are test sites; others are control sites. Oakridge 
is a test site.

The study's guidelines specify that students at test sites who don't sign 
the drug-testing consent form cannot participate in athletics.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1994 that random drug testing of student 
athletes is constitutional. But Weber says, and the ACLU of Oregon agrees, 
that the Oregon Constitution gives the state's residents greater protection 
from random searches than does the federal Constitution.

The ACLU, on Weber's behalf, sued the Oakridge School District over its 
mandatory testing policy. In February 2001, Lane County Circuit Court Judge 
Lyle Velure upheld the district's policy, with the stipulation that the 
district could not require students to divulge to testers the medications 
they were taking unless a test turned up positive.

Velure also turned down Weber's request to allow her to continue playing 
sports while the case went through the appeals process.

Weber's brother, a sophomore in the high school, also is not competing in 
sports this year, said their mother, Shannon Weber. But he has found some 
release in such noncompetitive sports as snowboarding.

"Ginelle has been the one who has suffered," she said. "She's very mature 
for her age, but deep down inside she's still 17. And it hurts. It's really 
hard to see your child in pain like that."

Interpreting Constitution

On Monday, Tom Christ, a Portland lawyer affiliated with the ACLU, will 
answer questions posed by a panel of three appeals court judges.

Christ said the case rests largely on how the judges interpret the state's 
constitution. He contends the original drafters sought to protect Oregon 
residents from unreasonable searches and did not indicate they would be 
amenable to any exceptions.

The school has no reason to suspect that Weber is using drugs, he said, but 
it wants to be able to search her nonetheless. If such searches are 
considered lawful, "then there is nothing that protects people from 
intrusions into their privacy."

The drafters "would be spinning in their graves" at the prospect of random 
urinalysis of high school athletes, Christ said.

In a statement, Larry Horton, superintendent of Oakridge School District, 
said: "With the support of the community, the school board adopted a drug 
testing policy to protect the health and safety of student athletes. The 
district is hopeful that the Court of Appeals will affirm the trial court's 
decision to uphold the policy."

The court might take three months to a year to issue its decision, Christ said.

On the sidelines Weber, who had been on the honor roll, participated in 
many extracurricular activities and was named to Who's Who Among American 
High School Students while at the high school, now is being home-schooled. 
She takes two physical education courses a term at the high school, which 
would make her eligible to play competitive sports if she agreed to the 
drug-testing program.

Track practice began a few weeks ago, and watching her former teammates 
sprint around the track was incredibly painful, Weber said. So is the fact 
that colleges and universities are scouting for possible athletic 
scholarship recipients, and she's not on any of their lists.

Still, she has no intention of backing down.

"I can't quit," she said. "Think of all the other little towns where people 
are going to say, 'We're going to do whatever we want with your kids 
because it's a study.' Somebody's got to say, 'You can't do this. It's not 
right.'

"I didn't do anything wrong. I stuck to the rules. I valued and respected 
my coaches and my team, so I didn't use drugs or alcohol. Here I am. I'm 
the one not getting to play."
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager